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Extension of Due Date - Tax Audit Report-AY 2014-15 - From 30.09.2014 to 30.11.2014

2014-08-21T11:15:00.000+05:30

Extension of due date for obtaining and furnishing Tax Audit Report for AY 2014-15 from 30.09.2014 to 30.11.2014

Order, F.No.133/24/2014-TPL, dated 20th August, 2014

Order under Section 119 of the Income-tax Act, 1961

In exercise of power conferred by Section 119 of the Income-tax Act (‘the Act’), the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) hereby extends the due date for obtaining and furnishing of the report of audit under section 44AB of the Act for Assessment Year 2014-15 in case of assessees who are not required to furnish report under section 92E of the Act from 30th day of September, 2014 to 30th November, 2014.

2. It is further clarified that the tax audit report under section 44AB of the Act filed during the period from 1st April, 2014 to 24th July, 2014 in the pre-revised Forms shall be treated as valid tax audit report furnished under section 44AB of the Act.

Click here to download the above Order in PDF Format.

Source: Income Tax.

Public Comments sought on Draft of Forward Contracts (Regulation) (Intermediaries) Rules, 2014

2014-08-21T11:14:00.002+05:30

The Ministry of Finance is in the process of strengthening the regulatory framework of the commodity derivative markets for some time. As part of this process, greater empowerment of Forward Markets Commission (FMC), the market regulator is also being done.

Accordingly, a need was felt to strengthen the regulatory framework by empowering the FMC to effectively regulate the intermediaries of the commodity derivative markets. To enable this, it has been decided to notify appropriate Rules by the Central Government.

As a transparency enhancing mechanism and therefore, to obtain public comments, a draft of the said Rules is hosted on the website of the Ministry of Finance at http://finmin.nic.in.

Feedback/ comments on the draft Rules may be sent to Shri Lekhan Thakkar, Director, Commodity Derivatives Division, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance at lekhan.d@nic.in within 21 days.

Source: Press Information Bureau.

ICAI – IASB releases "Knowledge Booklet II: A New Era in Internal Audit-Companies Act, 2013

2014-08-21T11:00:00.000+05:30

Click here >>> Internal Audit Standards Board Releases "Knowledge Booklet II: A New Era in Internal Audit-Companies Act, 2013".

{No. Of Pages: - 20}, {Format – PDF}, (Size – 554 KB}.

Source: The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

Company Law Settlement Scheme, 2014

2014-08-21T10:59:00.000+05:30

General Circular No. 34/2014, F. No. 02/13/2014 CL-V, dated 12th August, 2014

As you are aware, the Companies Act requires companies to file annual documents (Annual return and financial Statements) on the MCA21 electronic registry, within prescribed time limits. Sections 92, 137 and 403 of the Companies Act, 2013, which correspond to sections 159, 220 and 611 of the Companies Act, 1956 may be referred to in this regard. These annual documents are considered very important in context of an up-to-date Registry, it is observed that a large percentage of companies have not filed their statutory documents making them liable for penalties and prosecution for such non-compliance.

2. The Companies Act, 2013 lays down a stricter regime for the defaulting companies with higher additional fees. The quantum of punishment has been enhanced under the above mentioned provisions of the Act vis-a-vis the earlier Act i.e. Companies Act, 1956. A specific provision for enhanced fine in case of repeated default also been included in the form of section 451 of the Act. Additionally, the provisions section 164(2) of the Act, inter alia, providing for disqualification of directors in case a company has not filed financial statements or annual returns for any continuous period of three financial years has been extended to all companies.

3. The Ministry has received representations from various stakeholders requesting for grant of transitional period/one-time opportunity to enable them to file their pending annual documents to avoid attraction of higher fees/fine and other penal action, especially disqualification of their Director prescribed under the new provisions of the Act.

4. in order to give such an opportunity to the defaulting companies to enable them to make their default good by filing these belated documents, the Central Government in exercise of powers conferred under section 403 and 460 of the Companies Act, 2013 has decided to introduce a Scheme namely “Company Law Settlement Scheme 2014″ [CLSS-2014] condoning the delay in filing the above mentioned documents with the Registrar, granting immunity for prosecution and charging a reduced additional fee of 25% of the actual additional fees payable as per section 403 read with Companies (Registration Offices and Fee) Rules, 2014 for filing those belated documents under the Companies Act, 1956/2013 and the Rules made thereunder.

5. In addition, the scheme gives an opportunity to Inactive companies to get their companies declared as ‘dormant company’ under section 455 of the Act (Chapter XXIX) by filing a simple application at reduced fees. The said provision enables Inactive companies to remain on the Register of Companies with minimal compliance requirements.

6. The details of the Scheme are as under:-

(i) The scheme shall come into force on the 15th August 2014 and shall remain in force up to 15th October, 2014.

(ii) Definitions – In this Scheme, unless the context otherwise requires,

(a) “Act” means the Companies Act, 2013 and Companies Act, 1956 (where ever applicable);

(b) “Company” means a company as defined in clause of 20 of section 2 of the Companies Act, 2013 ;

(c) “defaulting company” means a company defined under the Companies Act, 2013, and which has made a default in filing of annual statutory documents.

(d) “designated authority” means the Registrar of Companies having jurisdiction over the registered office of the company.

(e) “immunity certificate” means the certificate referred to in sub-paragraph (vi) of the Scheme;

(f) “inactive Company” means as defined In Explanation (i) to sub-section (1) of section 455(1) of Companies Act, 2013.

(iii) Applicability: - Any “defaulting company” Is permitted to file belated documents which were due for filing till 30th June 2014 In accordance with the provisions of this Scheme:

(iv) Manner of payment of fees and additional fee on filing belated document for seeking Immunity under the Scheme - The defaulting company shall pay statutory filing fees as prescribed under the Companies (Registration Offices and fee) Rules, 2014 along with additional fees of 25% of the actual additional fee payable on the date of filing of each belated document.

(v) Withdrawal of appeal against prosecution launched for the offences: If the defaulting company has filed any appeal against any notice Issued or complaint filed before the competent court for violation of the provisions under the Companies Act, 1956 and/or Companies Act, 2013 in respect of which application is made under this scheme, the applicant shall before filing an application for issue of Immunity certificate, withdraw the appeal and furnish proof of such withdrawal along with the application.

(vi) Application for Issue of Immunity in respect of document(s) filed under the Scheme - The application for seeking immunity in respect of belated documents filed under the Scheme may be made electronically in the e-Form CLSS-2014 annexed, after the document(s) are taken on file, or on record at approved by the Registrar of Companies as the case may be. The e-Form for filing application to obtain such a certificate will be available on the MCA21 portal from 1^st September, 2014 and may be filed thereafter but not later than three months from the date of closure of the Scheme. There shall not be any fee payable on this Form.

Provided that this immunity shall not be applicable in the matter of any appeal pending before the court of law and in case of management disputes of the company pending before the court of law or tribunal.

(vii) Order by designated authority granting immunity from penalty and prosecution - The designated authority shall consider the application and upon being satisfied shall grant the immunity certificate in respect of documents filed under this Scheme.

(viii) Scheme not to apply in certain cases – (a) This scheme shall not apply to the filing of belated documents other than the following:

a. Form 20B - Form for filing annual return by a company having share capital.

b. Form 21A - Particulars of Annual return for the company not having share capital.

c. Form 23AC, 23ACA, 23AC-XBRL and 23ACA-XBRL - Forms for filing Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss account.

d. Form 66 – Form for submission of Compliance Certificate with the Registrar.

e. Form 238 - Form for Intimation for Appointment of Auditors.

(ix) This Scheme shall not apply

a. to companies against which action for striking off the name under sub- section (5) of section 560 of Companies Act, 1956 has already been initiated by the Registrar of Companies or

b. where any application has already been filed by the companies for action of striking off name from the Register of Companies or

c. where applications have been filed for obtaining Dormant Status under section 455 of the Companies Act, 2013;

d. to vanishing companies

(x) After granting the immunity, the Registrar concerned shall withdraw the prosecution(s) pending if any before the concerned Court(s);

(xi) Scheme for Inactive Companies: The defaulting inactive companies, while filing due documents under CLSS-2014 can, simultaneously, either:

a. apply to get themselves declared as Dormant Company under section 455 of the Companies Act, 2013 by filing e-form MSC-1 at 25% of the fee for the said form; OR

b. apply for striking off the name of the company by filing e- Form FTE at 25% of the fee payable on form FTE.

(xii) Applicability of clause (a) sub-section (2) of Companies Act, 2013 In case of companies availing the Scheme:- In case of defaulting companies which avail of this Scheme and file all belated documents, the provisions of clause (a) of subsection (2) of section 164 of the Companies Act, 2013 shall apply only for the prospective defaults, if any, by such companies.

7. At the conclusion of the Scheme, the Registrar shall take necessary action under the Companies Act, 1956/ 2013 against the companies who have not availed this Scheme and are in default in filing these documents in a timely manner.

Click here to download the complete text of above Circular in PDF Format.

Source: Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

ICAI - Representation made by ICAI w.r.t. new formats of Form No.3CA/3CB and 3CD

2014-08-21T10:58:00.000+05:30

Representation made by ICAI with respect to new formats of Form No.3CA/3CB and 3CD.

The new formats of tax audit reports namely Form No.3CA, 3CB and 3CD have been notified through Notification no. 33/2014 on 25/7/2014 with immediate effect. With regard to the same, certain genuine concerns were raised by the members, which, ICAI has, through a representation dated 07.08.2014, brought to the notice of the Hon’ble Finance Minister, Revenue Secretary, and Chairman CBDT for appropriate action at their end. Also, certain preliminary observations on the new forms have been shared with them.

For the reasons mentioned in detail in the representation and summarized below, ICAI has suggested:

The new formats of tax audit reports be made effective from the Assessment Year 2015-16 and not Assessment Year 2014-15. Alternatively, the due date for furnishing tax audit reports for the Assessment Year 2014-15 may be extended to 30th November, 2014

It has also been suggested that appropriate clarification be issued with regard to the position of the tax audit reports e-filed during 01.04.2014 to 24.07.2014 relating to Assessment Year 2014-15.

Reasons given in brief:

a) The Internationally accepted Standard on Auditing-700 has not been considered.

b) The audit of 50% of the taxpayers like listed companies, PSUs, Banks, Insurance Companies have already been completed and the financial statements are published. Only, the audit reports are pending for uploading in the e-filing portal.

c) The notification has been issued just two months before the last date of furnishing tax audit report and the schema for the same is not yet made available. This will cause undue hardship to both the taxpayer and the auditors.

Source: The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

SEBI Circular on expanding the framework of OFS of Shares through Stock Exchange Mechanism

2014-08-21T10:57:00.001+05:30

Expanding the framework of Offer for Sale (OFS) of Shares through Stock Exchange Mechanism

Circular, CIR/MRD/DP/24/201, dated 08th August, 2014

1. Comprehensive guidelines on sale of shares through Offer for Sale mechanism were issued vide circular no CIR/MRD/DP/18/2012 dated July 18, 2012. These guidelines have been modified vide circulars dated CIR/MRD/DP/04/2013 dated January 25, 2013 and CIR/MRD/DP/17/2013 dated May 30, 2013.

2. While the OFS mechanism has been successfully used to divest promoter stake, market feedback indicated that there is a need to take measures to encourage retail participation in OFS, enable other large shareholders to use the OFS mechanism and expand the universe of companies to use this framework.

3. Accordingly, the OFS framework shall be modified as under.

3.1. The OFS mechanism shall be available to top 200 companies by market capitalization in any of the last four completed quarters.

3.2. Any non-promoter shareholder of eligible companies holding at least 10% of share capital may also offer shares through the OFS mechanism.

3.3. In case a non-promoter shareholder offers shares through the OFS mechanism, promoters/ promoter group entities of such companies may participate in the OFS to purchase shares subject to compliance with applicable provisions of SEBI (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2009 and SEBI (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2011.

3.4. Minimum 10% of the offer size shall be reserved for retail investors. For this purpose, retail investor shall mean an individual investor who places bids for shares of total value of not more than Rs.2 lakhs aggregated across the exchanges. If the cumulative bid value across exchanges exceeds Rs.2 lakhs in the retail category, such bids shall be rejected.

3.5. Individual retail investors shall have the option to bid in the retail category and the general category. However, if the cumulative bid value of such investors exceeds Rs.2 lakhs, the bids in the retail category shall become ineligible.

3.6. The cut off price i.e. the lowest price at which the entire offer gets sold, shall be determined based on all valid bids. The cut off price shall be determined separately for bids received in the retail category and for bids received in the non-retail category.

3.7. Upon determining the cut-off price, the offer size reserved for retail investors shall be allocated to eligible bids of retail investors. Any unutilized portion shall be offered to non-retail category of investors. In case of excess demand in retail category at the cut-off price, allocation shall be on proportionate basis.

3.8. Indicative price for retail and non-retail portion shall be displayed separately.

3.9. Seller shall announce intention of sale of shares latest by 5 pm on T-2 day (T day being the day of the OFS) to the stock exchange. Stock exchanges shall inform the market immediately upon receipt of notice.

3.10. In case of disclosure of the floor price, seller shall disclose the floor price latest by 5 pm on T-1 day to the stock exchange. Stock exchanges shall ensure that the same is informed to the market immediately.

3.11. Seller may offer discount to retail investors. The details of discount and percentage of reservation for retail investors shall be disclosed upfront in the notice of OFS to the exchange.

3.12. Discount to retail investors may be offered as follows:

Multiple Clearing price OFS-

3.12.1. Retail investors may be allocated shares at a discount to the cut-off price determined in the retail category, irrespective of the bid price entered by them. Or

3.12.2. Retail investors may be allocated shares at a discount to the bid price entered by them.

Single clearing price OFS-

3.12.3. Retail investors shall be allocated shares at a discount to cut off price determined in the retail category.

3.13. In case of both of the above methodologies, the discounted price which shall be the final allocation price to the retail investors may be below the floor price.

4. Para 1, 2, 5 and para 7 of OFS circular dated July 18, 2012 stand accordingly modified. All other conditions for sale of shares through OFS framework contained in the circulars CIR/MRD/DP/18/2012 dated July 18, 2012, CIR/MRD/DP/04/2013 dated January 25, 2013 and CIR/MRD/DP/17/2013 dated May 30, 2013 remain unchanged.

5. Stock Exchanges are advised to:

5.1. take necessary steps and put in place necessary systems for implementation of above within three weeks from the date of this circular.

5.2. take steps to implement para 3.9 and 3.10 above with immediate effect.

5.3. make necessary amendments to the relevant bye-laws, rules and regulations for the implementation of the above decision.

5.4. bring the provisions of this circular to the notice of the member brokers of the stock exchange to also to disseminate the same on their website.

6. This circular is being issued in exercise of powers conferred under Section 11 (1) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 to protect the interests of investors in securities and to promote the development of, and to regulate the securities market.

Click here to download the complete text of above Circular in PDF Format.

Source: Securities and Exchange Board of India.

MCA - Amendment in schedule VII of Companies Act, 2013

2014-08-21T10:56:00.001+05:30

Notification, [F. No. 1/18/2013-CL-V], dated 06th August, 2014

G.S.R. 568(E).—In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 467 of the

Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013), the Central Government hereby makes the following further amendments in Schedule VII of the said Act, namely:-

(1) In Schedule VII, after item (x), the following item and entry shall be inserted, namely:-

“(xi) slum area development.

Explanation.— For the purposes of this item, the term ‘slum area’ shall mean any area declared as such by the Central Government or any State Government or any other competent authority under any law for the time being in force.”

2. This notification shall come into force on the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.

Click here to download the complete text of the above Notification in PDF Format.

Source: Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

Service Tax – Principal Chief Commissioner and Commissioner of Service Tax

2014-08-21T10:55:00.001+05:30

Notification No. 16/2014- Service Tax, [F. No. 334/15/2014-TRU], dated 6th August, 2014

G.S. R. (E).—In exercise of the powers conferred by sections 83, 93 and 94 of the Finance Act, 1994 (32 of 1994), read with sections 37A and 37B of the Central Excise Act, 1944 (1 of 1944) and of all other powers enabling it in this behalf, the Central Government hereby directs that the references to the authorities specified in column (2) of the Table below, in the rules made or deemed to have been made under the said sections or in any other notification, instructions, decision or orders, issued or made under the said sections or rules or under any other section of the said Acts, shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be construed as references to the authorities specified in column (3) of the said Table, namely:-

Table

Sl. No.	Existing reference	Substituted reference
(1)	(2)	(3)
1.	Chief Commissioner	Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner, as the case may be
2.	Commissioner	Principal Commissioner or Commissioner, as the case may be

Click here to view the complete text of above Notification.

Source: Directorate General of Service Tax

TRACES - Reminder for raising Flag "B" in TDS Quarterly Statements against 15G/H Forms for FY 2013-14

2014-08-21T10:54:00.003+05:30

CPC (TDS) reminder for raising Flag "B" in TDS Quarterly Statements against 15G/H Forms for FY 2013-14

Communication Number 65 dated 06th August, 2014

As you may be aware that the depositors submit form 15G/H to the bank for no deduction of tax to be made on the interest payments made to them.

However, it has been observed in your case that you have not raised Flag 'B'(No deduction on account of 15G/H) even against a single transaction as reported in the TDS Statement(s)(Form 26Q) submitted for various quarters of Financial Year 2013-14.

It is highly improbable that not even a single depositor has submitted form 15G/H to you for non-deduction of tax on the interest payments. Accordingly, you are advised to take the following action:

Actions to be taken:

· Check the details of 15G/H cases from your source data.

· Download the Conso File from our portal. Please use the e-tutorial for necessary help.

· Prepare the correction statement with appropriate changes. Please ensure that the TDS Deposited amount equals the TDS Deducted amount in your correction statement.

· Submit the Correction Statement at TIN Facilitation Centre.

Source: TRACES.

TRACES – Government Deductors for quoting AIN details in the TDS Statements

2014-08-21T10:53:00.002+05:30

CPC (TDS) communication to Govt. Deductors for quoting AIN details in the TDS Statements

Communication Number 64 dated 06th August, 2014

As per the records of the Centralized Processing Cell (TDS), it has been observed that the Accounts Office Identification Number (AIN) has not been mentioned in the TDS statements submitted by you.

What is AIN and its relevance:

· AIN is a unique seven digit number allotted by NSDL, to the Pay and Accounts Office (PAO), District Treasury Office (DTO) or Cheque Drawing and Disbursing Office (CDDO). It is mandatory for the PAO / CDDO / DTO to have an AIN.

Why is AIN important to be quoted in TDS Statement:

· Quoting of AIN in TDS Statement facilitates complete reporting and results into correct mapping of the TAN with the AIN.

· The AIN details in Form 24G, filed by the PAO / CDDO / DTO forms part of G-OLTAS database. CPC (TDS) processes TDS statements on the basis of information contained in G-OLTAS.

In view of the above, you are requested to provide AIN details in point 2(b) of the Forms 24Q and 26Q of the TDS Statements.

Source: TRACES.